One in five Irish motorists has broken the speed limit in the past month, an AA study has found.

Men were significantly more likely to offend with just 28.11% stating they had never sped compared to 40.08% of women.

More than a quarter of males admitted to breaking the limit within the past month, almost 8% higher than females.

Despite the increase in traffic on Irish roads, there was some positive news as the survey found 35.06% of drivers have never broken the speed limit.

AA spokesman Conor Faughnan said: “Last year was a step backwards for safety as we saw road deaths increase year-on-year and as part of ensuring that 2016 doesn’t represent a new trend is making simple changes to our own driving behaviours.

Read More

“There is no doubt that speeding kills and puts the driver, passengers and all other road users in unnecessary risk.

“While these findings did contain some positive news, it appears many motorists still hold the perception that speeding is acceptable.” Researchers found 26.30% of drivers aged 36 to 45 were the most likely to have broken the speed limit within the past month.

Read More

Conor Faughnan added: “We do have an issue in this country where we see irresponsibly high speed limits on narrow, winding roads and to a similar extent needlessly low limits in certain areas.

“Improperly set speed limits only serve to undermine the confidence motorists have in the system and lead to people doubting speed limits even where they are correct and opting to speed.

“Rectifying this issue and ensuring we see suitable speed limits on all roads will only help to reduce the instances of speeding.”

The survey also found drivers in Cork and Dublin were among the most likely to have broken the speed limit within the past month, with more than 23% of Cork-based motorists admitting to speeding within this time frame.